Money Matters: Foil-Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn

While I would love and adore to buy everything organic, local, and all that jazz…it is simply not feasible (for me) for a lot of reasons. Accessibility and cost being the main barriers. It’s also not feasible because I would have a husband ready to go ballistic over my spending and… well, I just don’t have $700 a month to spend on food…for 2. And if I did, I don’t know that spending all that money on food is how I would LIKE to spend such large amounts of money. I like vacations and shoes far too much for that… 😉

Now some of you are probably thinking, “But you’re a dietitian and you are what you eat.” And I agree with that statement entirely. However, I still think shopping smart is something I am not only learning how to do more effectively, but I feel it’s making me a better practitioner in the process. Generally speaking, people do not have unlimited, or even plentiful funds for which to buy groceries. As much as I like rare cheeses and to support organics, I have to prioritize where my money is spent. And I try to do my best with my garden and shopping locally and organic, when possible…especially when it comes to meat and dairy. Keeping my grocery costs within a budget (albeit pretty flexible) is important to me as a consumer, and as a practitioner.

Back to the recipe. Not only did it catch my eye because it contained some of my most favorite foods, but it struck me as a quick, easy, healthy, and cheap meal. And that…it was 🙂 I dare say this was one of the best meals we’ve had in awhile, and it really does accomplish so much with flavor, hands-on time, and cost. Oh, and one-bowl clean-up, too!

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat to 450 degrees

Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix together the butter, 1 teaspoon chipotle, orange zest, half the garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a medium bowl until well-combined. Spread butter mixture over the fish.

Lay four 14-inch lengths of foil on the counter and divide the bean mixture evenly over the lower half of each piece of foil. Top with fish, and fold the foil over the fish, folding the edges to seal.

Arrange the packets in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully open the packets and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve. Yield: 4 servings.

Result: So, I found the perfect meal…and this is it! Not only is it delicious (really, really, really, delicious)…but it’s also uber healthy — carb-controlled, low in sodium (for a meal), high in lean protein, and packed with fiber! It’s also cost effective…and creates just one dirty bowl leaving very little clean-up! 😀

Money Matters: The most expensive ingredient was the tilapia which was on sale for $3.99/lb. Navel oranges were $0.50 and the not-quite in-season corn was $0.98 for the 2 ears that I used. The can of beans was $1.19 and the rest accounted for small additions to the total. The meal total was $8.29 for 4 servings, equaling $2.07/serving!

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Cost savings tip! I use a LOT of chipotles in adobo sauce in my cooking! While these flavor-packed peppers are commonly found in the ethnic aisle of any grocery store, you often use a very small portion of the can. Don’t throw out the leftovers — freeze a pepper or two (with sauce) in an individual ziplock and pull them out as you use them!

This is the first of several new recipes I am including in a second round of a “Money Matters” series. I hope you guys enjoy!

I slept like a baby after a 9pm workout last night. I have been busy prepping for this weekend when we will be hosting about 18 guests. Until last night, I hadn’t worked out since the duathlon on Sunday and my body was feeling sore and achy from the lack of movement. I could tell my sleep patterns have been messed up, as well. Exercise…it does the body good!!

And hallelujah! It is FINALLY Friday! I’ve been thinking it was Friday since Wednesday morning and alas, it is here 😀

I always buy organic milk and eggs. I try to do it with the dirty dozen when I go to the farmer’s market (really it’s a grocery store, not a real farmer’s market) or Whole Foods, but when I go the regular grocery store, I end up buying conventional produce because the organic selection is awful.

This is my kind of meal! I’ll have to leave out the onions for the hubby, but I can’t wait to try it out. I love the tip about the chipotle chiles.

I buy a mix of organic and conventional produce depending on quality and price. I live near several different farms and I try to buy their produce (even if it isn’t organic) instead of purchasing it from the grocery store. I used a mix of organic and conventional seeds/plants in my garden. We were able to buy a few plants from a local farm.

I love the chipotles in adobo, too! I really don’t know what I did without them!

P.S. You are so right and I need to make that change. I buy a certain brand of fish and all of them have been wild-caught…I stopped checking! Shame on me! Farm-raised, they are. I just hope they weren’t corn-fed! Guessing not…they were SKINNY fillets!

It’s good to hear someone like you say that you don’t and can’t always afford to purchase the organic version of food. Especially in the blog world, I sometimes feel like I’m one of the few that doesn’t buy organic and super healthy products all the time.

I would buy organic more if I could, but like you, it isn’t always in the budget. I DO buy organic strawberries though…it is the one fruit I’ll splurge for. 18 guests??? You’ll need alot of strawberries!!!! Have a good weekend Nicole!

I buy almost everything organic but, to be fair, I’m cooking for one and I eat beans on most days so buying organic veggies kind of balances that out. For some things I don’t bother, such as avocadoes and mangoes but I definitely always buy an organic dirty dozen!

I think it’s great that you mentioned the whole organic debate. I would love to buy all organic all the time but I have to agree with you. My budget just doesn’t allow it. I do try to buy organic off the dirty dozen list as much as possible.
Have a great weekend, Nicole!

Wow 18 people?! I’m having 4 over and I feel like I have a lot of planning to do. You rock girl! And so does this recipe. I love simple meals like this. Totally something I’ll try out. The 1 bowl clean up makes me the most happy.

I don’t buy organic usually…I went to the farmers market the other day and got 3 organic peaches for $3. It was ridic! I can’t afford that. I do love organic chicken though, because you can truly taste and feel the difference.

I saw that article the other day, and I printed it to give to customers. BUt then I thought, “will they not buy any of these dirty foods, now??”. So that was a dumb idea. I actually tell people about the fruit and veggie wash you posted once. I try to buy organic, but when I don’t, I clean the produce well!!

Great recipe here, and I appreciate your cost analysis. Tilapia is on sale at MD today, by the way 🙂

Regarding Wednesday. I don’t get off of work until 7pm. The line at Thurmans is always VERY long, so if you and Mark want to get there early, you can, but Nick and I will get there around 7:30pm or 7:45. Is that ok? You don’t have to get there early, we’ll still get a table relatively soon, they are pretty quick.

ANOTHER Chipotle Tip : Put the entire contents of the can in the food processer and give it a whirl or two. Meaure out 1 tablespoon of mixture on plastic wrap spaced far enough apart to cut and wrap plastic around it . Place all the packets in a freezer bag and you are ready to pullout 1 tablespoon at a time as you need it and it is ready to go straight into your recipe!

This sounds wonderful! But I’m wondering how the sodium can be so low when using canned beans? Do you not count the sodium after rinsing the beans? I always rinse my beans but I’ve actually been wondering lately how much sodium this “removes” and I’ve been trying to switch to dry bean for both cost and health benefits.

Made this tonight and it was fantastic! It was a bit spicy for us – do you usually take the seeds out of your peppers for this? I was really surprised out well the orange flavor came through. The fish was the best tilapia I’ve had in a long time! Will definitely make this again!

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[…] Packets Posted on August 14, 2011 by Nicole Do you remember how I sang the praises of the Foil-Baked Fish with Black Beans and Corn? Yeah, me too. It was my first time baking in a foil packet and ever since, I’ve been cursing […]